Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Not even the trees are safe.

Freddy the wiener dog has destroyed the front yard (almost) with holes and trenches. Thankfully, the grass still thinks it is winter so it seems dead anyway. Freddy is looking for new places to dig. He finally decided that it should be around the tress. As much as Freddy likes digging up grass roots, he had difficulty pulling up tree roots. Not that he little guy didn't try.....

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Freddy and the girls' yearly checkup.

Freddy and the girls went to the vet's office for their yearly checkup. As usual, all three were not happy to be there. Of course, no one is as frightened as Malibu...poor baby. 

The first thing we did was weigh the doggies. Freddy is still at a healthy 12 lbs., thin yet solid. Malibu moved up the scale a little and weighed in at 10 lbs. Mommy definitely has to start walking them three times a day again. Not necessary for Malibu, but for Luna. She weighed in at a whopping 17.5 lbs.! She does not seem to eat that much, yet she is still packing on pounds. Mommy laid down the law and said no more human food...okay, okay, unless it's a protein. Otherwise, no carbs! Of course, she is a German girl. She is probably just big-boned.

Secondly, we took the doggies into the examination room. They're unhappy enough to stand on the cold, stainless steel table. But, then they each get a turn getting blood drawn and a stool sample. The vet arrives. He is a very nice man. He is good with the doggies and he listens to their parents' concerns. Freddy is in good shape, but it is time for his teeth cleaning. Mommy refused to allow Freddy to undergo anesthesia last year, but reluctantly agrees this year. Malibu is also in good health except for a couple of rear molars. He said Malibu's teeth cleaning will be more difficult than Freddy's, so we agreed for Freddy to go first. We're still trying to figure out her hair loss. He thinks we need to take her to an endocrinology vet in Gainesville, Fla. We'll see. We do not want to put Malibu under a lot of stress. It's just hair..... Luna is also healthy. The vet was extremely pleased with the condition of her teeth. He was very surprised that they had stayed so white since the cleaning. It wasn't until we were home later that we realized she keeps her teeth clean by chewing on all those plastic lids!

Freddy and Malibu needed their annual distemper shots. Luna was not due for any shots. But, she's felt the worst. She's been moody and exhausted since the appointment. Mommy is worried for her Luna. Maybe it was too stressful, although she didn't seem that upset at the time. Of course, there has been lots of napping since then.

P.S. I nearly forgot!! After the vet's examination of Malibu, he said, "What a weird little dog." I always said Dachshunds are aliens.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Malibu's first snake

The puppies had a long playtime in the front yard - two hours! I guess the lizards think it is still winter because we don't have very many out and about yet, so the doggies don't have anything to chase. Freddy and Malibu still love to check all the bushes looking for lizards and, for Malibu, frogs too. 

Well, Daddy has cleared the underbrush from a large plant and the puppies were finally able to search underneath it. Freddy and Malibu spent quite a bit of time searching underneath the plant. Then, Malibu came running out with a snake - a little, black harmless garden snake. She was so happy to have a "giant lizard." Freddy was interested too, but Malibu was definitely not going to share.

Malibu played with the snake like she does the frogs. She runs around with it in her mouth. She smacks it around with a paw. It was funny to watch this little doggie run around with this snake hanging down. The snake must have thought it was winter too because it never hissed or tried to strike. Malibu played with it until she got bored and then left it. She went back a few minutes later and it was already gone.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Luna's cigar

Daddy brought home three bone toys for the doggies. We have no idea where the Freddy and Bu put their toys. Luna, however, keeps her bone very close to her. Always. She carries it around like a cigar.